Jamie Lynn Stillman v. Douglas C. Lee

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided April 21, 2016·No. 31365-4·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

April 21, 2016

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division Ill

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

In the Matter of the Parenting and Support ) No. 31365-4-111 of )

)

D.W.L. )

)

Child, )

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JAMIE STILLMAN, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

Respondent, )

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and )

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DOUGLAS C. LEE, )

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Appellant. )

LAWRENCE-BERREY, A.CJ. - Douglas Lee appeals the trial court's orders setting child support and requiring him to pay part of Jamie Stillman's attorney fees. He argues that the trial court erred when it refused to consider his 2010 and 2011 federal tax returns submitted after trial. He also argues Ms. Stillman's intransigence precludes the partial attorney fee award. We disagree, award Ms. Stillman her attorney fees on appeal, and affirm.

No. 31365-4-111 In re Parenting ofD. W.L.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Mr. Lee and Ms. Stillman are the parents of D.L., who was born in June 2006.

Prior to and after the pregnancy, the couple lived apart-Mr. Lee in Los Angeles, and Ms. Stillman in Spokane. The couple ended their relationship in either 2007 or 2008. In October 2010, Mr. Lee returned to Spokane and began to work as a journeyman lineman in November 2010. Ms. Stillman worked as a licensed practical nurse and took classes toward her associate' s degree in nursing.

A. Proposed parenting plans and declarations On December 10, 2010, Ms. Stillman filed a petition pursuant to Washington's Uniform Parentage Act, chapter 26.26 RCW, to establish child support and a parenting plan for D.L. Ms. Stillman included a proposed parenting plan for D.L. that provided for supervised visitation with Mr. Lee but sought to restrict contact based on factors set forth in RCW 26.09.191. Mr. Lee responded through counsel and asked the trial court to deny Ms. Stillman's petition. Ms. Stillman retained Bryan Geissler as counsel. Through counsel, Ms. Stillman filed an amended proposed parenting plan that listed additional bases for restricting contact, filed a declaration in support of her proposed restrictions, and sent Mr. Lee discovery questions that requested Mr. Lee's tax returns, W-2s, and pay stubs to verify his income.

No. 31365-4-III In re Parenting ofD. WL.

On April 4, 2011, Mr. Lee filed a declaration contesting most of the facts in Ms.

Stillman's declaration. Mr. Lee also filed a proposed parenting plan, which proposed Wednesday and Sunday visits. Mr. Lee moved the trial court to approve his parenting plan and noted a hearing for April 27. Mr. Lee never responded to Ms. Stillman's discovery requests.

Ms. Stillman filed a response declaration contesting facts in Mr. Lee's declaration.

Ms. Stillman also asked for all visits between D.L. and Mr. Lee to initially occur at a therapist's office. Ms. Stillman's mother, brother, and friend also filed declarations contesting facts in Mr. Lee's declaration. Mr. Lee filed a reply declaration contesting many of those facts.

B. The court commissioner's visitation order and motions relating thereto On April 27, 2011, the court commissioner signed a temporary order adopting Mr.

Lee's proposed parenting plan, which was conditioned on several weeks of successful supervised visitation. The commissioner ordered the first two visits between Mr. Lee and D.L. to occur with a family counselor, and the next two visits to occur at Fulcrum, a family-oriented dispute resolution facility. The court ordered the two family counselor visits to be spread out over two weeks, with one visit per week, and both Fulcrum visits to occur the third week. If the therapists did not identify any problems, then regular

No. 31365-4-111 In re Parenting of D. W.L.

visitation would start on the fourth week and Mr. Lee's proposed parenting plan would be adopted as a temporary order.

Immediately after the commissioner entered the order, Mr. Lee's attorney arranged a visitation with the therapist the next day, April 28, at 6:00 p.m. That night, Mr. Lee's attorney sent Ms. Stillman's attorney a text message about the scheduled visit, and Mr. Lee personally called Ms. Stillman the next morning. Neither Ms. Stillman nor her attorney responded. On April 28, Mr. Lee moved to compel compliance with the visitation order and to shorten time so the matter could be heard that day. At the expedited hearing, the parties acknowledged they had different understandings of what the court meant when it ruled the first visit was to occur "within a week." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 94. Ms. Stillman's attorney assured the court the first visit would occur inside the seven-day period following its April 27 order. The commissioner denied Mr. Lee's motion without prejudice.

After the hearing, Ms. Stillman's attorney called the therapist to set up visits. Mr.

Lee's attorney also called the therapist and set up visits on May 3 and May 9, and e- mailed these times to Ms. Stillman's attorney. That same day, on April 28, Mr. Lee's attorney noted another expedited hearing for May 3 "in case [Ms. Stillman was] recalcitrant," and told Ms. Stillman's attorney he would strike the hearing once Ms.

No. 31365-4-III In re Parenting ofD. W.L.

Stillman confirmed she would bring D.L. to the May 3 visit. CP at 120. On the morning of May 3, Mr. Lee's attorney still had not heard from Ms. Stillman, so he obtained an ex parte order requiring Ms. Stillman to bring D.L. to the visitations on May 3 and May 9. Ms. Stillman brought D.L. to both visits, and both went well.

On May 4, Mr. Lee's attorney e-mailed Ms. Stillman's attorney and asked if the Fulcrum visits could occur the week of May 16. Ms. Stillman's attorney did not respond to the e-mail. On May 11, Mr. Lee obtained an ex parte order scheduling a hearing on the matter for May 12. Also on May 11, Ms. Stillman's attorney's office called Fulcrum and scheduled visits for May 18 and May 20. On May 12, Ms. Stillman's attorney sent a letter to Mr. Lee's attorney in which he described the visits his office scheduled, stated Ms. Stillman would transport D.L. to the visits, and agreed to begin the regular visitation schedule the following week. Mr. Lee struck the May 12 hearing. The Fulcrum visits occurred on May 18 and May 20. After then, visits occurred regularly.

On June 8, 2011, Bryan Geissler withdrew as counsel for Ms. Stillman. In April 2012, Ms. Stillman, prose, and Mr. Lee entered into an agreed parenting plan, which provided that D.L. would spend the third weekend of each month with Mr. Lee.

No. 31365-4-111 In re Parenting ofD. WL.

C. Pretrial discovery motion On March 15, 2012, the trial court held a status conference and set the case for trial on September 10, 2012. In May 2012, Mr. Lee sent Ms. Stillman blank financial declaration forms and child support worksheets and asked her to complete them. Ms. Stillman filed the completed worksheets and copies of her 2009, 2010, and 2011 tax returns with the court, but did not return the financial declaration. On August 20, Mr. Lee sent Ms. Stillman a draft of the trial management joint report and asked Ms. Stillman to return it. Ms. Stillman retained Ellen Hendrick as counsel on August 28, 2012. At this point, Mr. Lee still had not responded to Ms. Stillman's early discovery questions that sought tax returns, W-2's, and pay stubs to verify his income.

Mr. Lee filed his proposed child support worksheets, his 2011 W-2, and one pay stub from March 2012. Mr. Lee stated he had not filed tax returns in three years, but had hired an accountant to prepare his returns. Ms. Stillman told Mr. Lee that the one W-2 and one pay stub were insufficient proof of his income, and filed motions to continue the trial and to extend the discovery cut-off date so she could subpoena additional financial information. Ms. Stillman set a hearing for September 6, less than one week before trial.

No. 31365-4-III In re Parenting ofD. WL.

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